Martine Rolls: Will The Lakes wow us?

Most of my adult life, I have lived in a big city with a population of more than 500,000 people.

It was a great place to be at the time but I am glad I left when I did.

Trying not to get pushed off the pavement in the rat race of the concrete jungle is not a game I play anymore.

I have well and truly settled in Tauranga and am happy to stay in the Bay as I love it here for all the obvious reasons.

People who set goals for themselves are most likely to be successful so I have recently set myself a few big ones.

The main one is that I want to own a house in the next five years.

I don't mind renting and my current landlords are fine, but it can be inconvenient.

It's in the little things.

If I want to paint one of the walls bright purple or if I feel like going crazy with picture hooks, I would like to be able to do so without asking permission.

If something breaks, I'd like to organise to get it fixed myself.

Because I like to focus on the big picture, I am already looking around to see in what area I would like to buy when I have enough saved up to cover a decent deposit.

Our business editor, Graham Skellern, wrote an in-depth story that was published in the Bay of Plenty Times Weekend on how our city's newest but troubled suburb The Lakes got saved by Carrus Corporation.

It's been one of the most popular stories on bayofplentytimes.co.nz all week.

The Lakes is one of the areas I looked at when my first thoughts of becoming a homeowner sprouted.

I went for a bike ride there and had a good look around.

Cutting edge urban design?

A great place to buy?

Sorry, but I didn't see it.

It has to be said that The Lakes is only part finished and, of course, it takes time for a newly developed area to get some atmosphere, but to me it was a no-brainer why so few people show an interest in buying there.

One of the comments on Graham's editorial on The Lakes, easily found in the opinion section on our website, came from the-4th-estate.

"You can tie a bow around it but a dog is still a dog at the end of the day and these guys have bought a pup.

"You can bang on about section size all you like but I think the true reasons the Lakes flopped and will continue to flop are:

1. It's a drained swamp, big section or little section it's gonna be damp, it's gonna be cold and it's gonna be horrible out there when the wind is howling from the south.

2. There's a highway running through it from Route K up to Pyes Pa Rd which is simply awful.

3. You can see factories from your lounge ... nice.

4. You can see the inorganic landfill from your lounge ... yay.

5. The hills cast huge shadows and will make things cold in the winter ... no sun in some spots till well after mid-morning ... brrrr.

6. There are no shops or services like gas stations out there at all so why would you want to be there when you've got far better options in more evolved suburbs in Tauranga itself?"

Good points you make, the-4th-estate.

It is exactly what I thought when I rode my bike around the area. Plus a few more things, like a complete lack of character.

I even recall saying to my exercise partner that afternoon that I wouldn't want to live there even if they'd give me a house for free.

Truth is, I still have a few years of saving to do before I can start making concrete decisions on where and what to buy anyway.

Who knows, maybe the Lakes will look a lot better by then. I would love to see it.

Wouldn't it be fantastic if Carrus Corporation proves that it has the vision, the power, the stamina, as well as the means to wow us all?